In order to concentrate more on providing healthcare services to its clients, CVS Health stated this week that it will eliminate about 5,000 employees.

The decision, which is intended to save the firm money, would mostly impact employees in corporate employment, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The choice is not anticipated to have an impact on employees at the company’s retail outlets, pharmacies, or clinics.

In order to better serve consumers and grow the business, CVS Health examined population fluctuations, consumer spending trends, and future health requirements before announcing its decision to shut down 900 sites over the course of three years in November 2021.

According to Breitbart News, “the company planned to reduce store density in certain locations and close about 300 stores per year throughout the next three years, starting in spring 2022.”

The Journal’s story went on to say:

According to a staff document viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Chief Executive Karen Lynch said that the modifications will allow CVS to “be at the forefront of this once-in-a-generation transition in health care.”

According to the message, “the corporation is reducing its usage of consultants and vendors as well as its travel expenditures. It also involves halting certain company endeavors and boosting productivity using technology. The impacted employees will be given benefits, severance money, and assistance in finding new employment.”

The announcement of the layoffs coincides with the impending release of CVS’s quarterly earnings report.

According to WPRI, CVS Health Executive Director of Corporate Communications Mike Deangelis said, “We are dedicated to supporting our impacted coworkers, and those affected will be provided with severance benefits and pay, which includes access to outplacement services.”

Despite frequent warnings of a recession, there haven’t been many layoffs in the United States. According to the Department of Labor’s report this week, there were almost 1.5 million layoffs and discharges in June. According to historical norms, that amount is modest. Just before the epidemic began in February 2020, there were 1.8 million layoffs.

In addition, Breitbart News reported that job opportunities were almost unchanged at the end of June compared to May, calling it “a sign that the labor market continues to remain tight.”

According to the article, “The Dept. of Labor said that job openings totaled 9.6 million on the final day of June, exactly where they had been in the downwardly revised number for the end of May.”

A day after further charges were filed against him in the Mar-a-Lago White House records investigation by special prosecutor Jack Smith’s team, former President Trump spoke about his Agenda 47 policy platform at a Republican Party of Iowa dinner this week in Des Moines.

“Well, I appreciate it. To be with you is a great honor. Hello, too, Iowa. I’m here to share a pretty straightforward message. President Trump in the White House is the best friend Iowa has ever had,” he addressed those supporting him.

After highlighting his successes during his first term in office and how he has recently outperformed his Republican primary rivals in the polls, Trump focused on some of the key points of his policy platform and vowed to “fight for Iowa like nobody else is going to fight.”

Trump pledged to “obliterate the deep state. We’ll tell the 87,000 IRS officers who want to steal your money—and worse—that we won’t accept it.”

He said, “They want to weaponize the IRS in the same way they weaponized the FBI and the Justice Dept. And, by the way, if I were not running, no one would be pursuing me, and the same would be true if I was losing badly.”

Trump then discussed his strategies for securing the southern border, stopping illegal immigration, and his ideas for the American educational system while adhering to the same minute time constraint as previous candidates:

“I would immediately revoke every single open-borders policy implemented by the Biden administration and put an end to the massive invasion of criminals entering our nation. I managed to create the safest border in the entire history of our nation, and we’ll do it once more very soon.”

“I will issue an executive order on the first day of my administration to stop federal money for any school that promotes critical race theory, transgender craziness, and other objectionable racial, sexual, or political material to youngsters. You know that no one has been more adamant about preventing guys from participating in women’s sports than me. How absurd is that? Can you believe that we even have to say this? I will also sign legislation outlawing child sexual mutilation in all 50 states.”

He promised to “fully secure American elections” as well as “defend the Judeo-Christian values of our country’s founding.”

“I won Iowa twice by a significant margin. We break records, and together we will destroy Crooked Joe Biden, by far the most corrupt president in our nation’s history,” he continued.

According to Breitbart Economics Editor John Carney, the U.S. economy will experience a resurgence of inflation which will “disrupt everybody’s narratives,” in an interview with Fox Business anchor Larry Kudlow this week.

Carney cited the growing cost of housing and oil as warning signs that inflation may pick up speed once more.

Carney said, “China has been falling behind, which is the only reason oil has become as cheap as it is. China is ready to inject a lot more stimulus into the economy since Xi Jinping can’t afford for it to be growing at its current pace politically. They will thus return. Oil is going up in price, but it’s not only oil. Look at the rising housing prices for four consecutive months. Therefore, It won’t be affecting CPI for very long. Shelter makes up around 40% of the CPI.”

“Therefore,” he said, “there would be a boom in inflation that would upend everyone’s story. Everyone said that inflation was decreasing. We don’t really have any basis, in my opinion, to anticipate that inflation will stay at its current level.

Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, is expected to announce a rate increase during the news conference that will occur after the Federal Open Market Committee session tomorrow, according to Carney.

“We are going toward a hike tomorrow,” Carney said. “The Fed has hinted that it wants to raise rates once more. In fact, I believe that when inflation starts to go up again in the coming months, the Fed will be forced to take action that no one in the market now anticipates. People will be astonished when they have to hike again in the first part of next year, which will seriously disrupt things.”

Kudlow questioned if the comeback of inflation may cause the economy “to double dip into yet another recession next year.”

“I predict a recession for next year. When is the question,” according to Carney. “At this time, it appears that we are increasing by 2%. We expanded by 2% in the first quarter and most likely by 2% in the second, though we won’t know for sure until later this week. We won’t have a recession this year, in my opinion. I used to believe it would happen in the first quarter of the next year. But we are now so strong in so many areas that we won’t likely turn negative up until the second quarter of next year.”

“Therefore, I keep delaying this, which seems absurd given that we consistently predict a recession. It’s simply not here yet,” he said.

Barbie and Oppenheimer’s record-breaking box office performance last weekend in Hollywood was cited by Carney in this week’s Breitbart Business Digest as further proof that American consumers are eager to spend money. This is also the case because the Fed will need to raise interest rates in order to quell the inflationary pressures caused by all of this consumer activity. Carney called the anticipated rate increase by the Fed this week the “Barbenheimer Hike.”

According to Carney, “These box office numbers aren’t the sort of numbers you would anticipate from a public wary of an economic downturn. No evidence exists for the type of defensive saving that frequently triggers or exacerbates a recession. The demand for tickets points to a household sector that continues to spend freely and is ready to take advantage of a summer without too many fatalities, masking and distancing restrictions, and exorbitant petrol prices.”

According to a closely-watched poll of business leaders released this week, economic activity grew in July at its weakest pace in nearly five months and inflation remained uncomfortably sticky.

The S&P Global “flash” U.S. composites purchasing managers index decreased 1.2 points to 52 in July due to manufacturing’s improvement but still gloomy outlook and services’ unexpected decline.

According to an analyst at S&P Global, the indicator for the coming year “deteriorated sharply” as well, portraying a “darker picture” of the economy.

The manufacturing activity index increased from 46.3 in June to 49, which is the highest mark in three months and surpasses even the most optimistic projections. Manufacturing production increased to 50, a two-month high.

However, the services sector’s activity index dropped from 54.4 to 52.4. The reading is at its lowest level in five months. It also reached a five-month low of 52 as the production index for services dropped 1.2 percentage points.

The pace of growth in total input costs slowed down in July after firms reported a spike in cost inflation in June. However, the cost of goods and services climbed as businesses tried to pass on rising prices and interest rate charges to their customers.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, stated, “July has experienced an unwelcome mixture of slower economic growth, gloomier business confidence, weaker job creation, and sticky inflation.”

Williamson continued,

“The GDP was growing at an annualized quarterly pace of around 1.5% at the beginning of the third quarter, which is commensurate with the total rate of production growth, measured throughout manufacturing and services. That’s a decrease from the 2% pace the survey predicted for the second quarter.”

“However, growth is entirely fueled by the service sector, and specifically, an increase of international client spending, which helps offset a stagnant manufacturing sector and steadily declining demand from US consumers and businesses.”

“In addition, corporate confidence about the year’s prospects has fallen precipitously to its lowest level this year. The worsening situation increases the likelihood that production growth will experience negative risks in the upcoming months, which, together with the US economy’s pace of expansion slowing in July, will maintain concern that the US economy might yet experience another slump before the year is up.”

“The stickiness of pricing pressures, however, continues to be a significant problem. It conveys a concerning message that additional drops in the rate of inflation below 3% may prove hard in the short future since the survey index of selling prices has consistently performed as a credible leading predictor of consumer price inflation, forecasting the easing to 3% in June.”

It is widely believed that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates this week.